I have some good news, dear friends...
I found out today that I have raised 94% of my support!!! I am also aware of an organization that has been collecting donations for me that will put me over my $7,460 budget, so this means that not only am I fully supported, but I am over-supported, which is a huge blessing!


Now I need to pack like crazy, book tickets and coordinate with the Japan side about when they can be ready for me, and finish figuring out some last-minute schedule things for when I'm in Japan, although probably not in that order. :) 
I'll let you all know when I have everything figured out!


These are some random thoughts but I need to share...

Recently, a lot of things have happened. One of my friends died. Another one has been seriously considering suicide. Others have been changing drastically, turning to drugs and alcohol and partying instead of friends for comfort.
All of this has changed my thinking about life. I decided that my personal mission in life is to help people - no matter what they’re going through. I want to be there for people. To help them get past whatever’s going on in their life. I also decided that I want to live my life to the fullest, all day every day. You never know when your life is going to end, so why not live every day like it’s your last? Yeah, it can be hard to do, but why not? I was listening to a song recently ("We’re All Going Somewhere" by Abandon Kansas), and there was a line in it that I thought was really profound: “We spend our lives tiptoeing carefully just to arrive at our death safely.”
I don’t want to do that. I want to live life. I want to be a force to be reckoned with. I want to make a difference in the world, whether I’m safe doing it or not.
Only time will tell what that difference will be, and how I’ll do it, but I swear I will. My first step? Helping people. All day every day.
That's part of why I'm going to Japan. To help. And to encourage those who have been helping, whether I'm safe or not. 
Who knows what I'll do after? Only time will tell. But for now, my job is to help. And I will do my best to do so.

後でお会いしましょう！

See you later!

~Chloe

As I'm currently in the process of sending out support letters and waiting for my support to come in, all I can do now is wait. 

Well... wait and start preparing!

I have begun the mighty task of making the list of things I need to bring... It's a little tough because not only must I pack for one season of living and working in the north, but I have to prepare for two different seasons - winter and spring - and the beginning of the rainy season as well. The list grows longer. 


Also, I have now raise 15% of my support! Ah, this is so exciting!

On a little side note... I'm learning things already. God sure does know how to make life a learning experience! I've been learning to trust Him fully. It's been hard to be going through this process, not knowing for sure if I'll be able to raise enough money to go and help. But I'm learning to trust that if He put this on my heart and made everything happen thus far, He will follow it to completion. And Paul tells us this, in Philippians 1:6b: "...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." I can't wait for God to bring this good work to the next step, and to see how it all plays out - all in Christ's name!

後でお会いしましょう！

See you later!

~Chloe

This is random, but something I feel I need to share. Last weekend, I was on Facebook just browsing around, and my dad asked me if I knew what happened to out mutual friend named Masa. I got on his page right away and found posts on his wall asking if he was alright and saying that they would pray for him, and then I found a post that someone had tagged him in to a group called "Pray for Masa." Masa was this young man's name. 
I looked at the page and realized that something terrible had happened, as if all the posts on his wall didn't give it away. After some investigating, I found out that Masa had suddenly collapsed from a subarachnoid hemorrhage and that doctors believed him to be brain dead but would watch his condition until they were sure. This happened Friday afternoon. Throughout the night people kept joining the Pray for Masa page, even people who had no clue who he was! It was encouraging to read posts from people all over the world, saying that they were praying for Masa from wherever they were. My dad posted that we were praying from Boston.
We went to bed on Friday night, hoping and praying for the best, but really knowing that we could only pray for God's will to be done. 
Saturday morning, we awoke to find that Masa had gone to be with the Lord, and both my dad and I, although we didn't know Masa very well, were deeply affected.
However, Masa's story - and the people who loved him - shed some light onto how much of an impact he has already made. Masa was 27, and had been living in Seattle for 6 years. He had become a Christian while in Seattle, and was obviously completely sold out for Jesus. He was a leader of JxJ, a Christian outreach group for Japanese youth in the Seattle area, and when I met him, I was awed by his joy and love that was evident even in the way he introduced himself to me.
Masa had been home in Japan with his family for a week before he collapsed.
His parents and other family are not Christians, but they were overwhelmed and very thankful that over 1500 people joined the Pray for Masa page on Facebook. They even asked Masa's pastor from Seattle to do the funeral, even though Masa's grandfather is a buddhist priest and perfectly capable of performing it.


Masa's story, and his death, got me thinking. He had such an impact, even though he may not have seen it. He was a positive influence to youth in Seattle, to people in his church and his friends. He even impacted people who he never met, or only met briefly, like me and some of my church's members who joined the Pray for Masa page and listened to his testimony on Vimeo. 
What impact have we made on God's Kingdom?


Just something I've been thinking about. Thanks for reading :)


後でお会いしましょう！
See you later!
~Chloe